Door for grain-cars, &amp;c.



E. E. JOSEF.

DOOR FOR GRAIN BARS, 6w.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27, 1911. 1 047 941 Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

2 SHEET SSHEET 1.

I COLUMBIA PLANOGRAI'H C0.,WA5HINGTON, D. c.

E. E. J OSEF.

noon FOR GRAIN ems, 6w. APPLICATION FILED SBPT.27, 1911. I

Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

z Zk\\WW/AWWWWWWWWWWMWZ COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

EDWARD E. JOSEF, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

noon FOR GRAIN-CARS, 850.

Application filed September 27, 1911. Serial No. 651,518.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, EDWARD E.

falo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Doors for Grain-Cars, &c., of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a door which is more particularly designed for use [on cars so as to permit the latter to. be used for carrying grain and similar loose merchandise aswell as other kinds of freight but which may also be used as a shutter 01' closure for openlngs 1n warehouses or. other build ngs or bodies. I

It is the ob ect of this invention to pro- 1 duce a door of this character which can be produced at comparativelylow cost, which is strong and durable in construction and easy of operation and which can bereadily and conveniently transferred from one body or car to another and thus enable the door to be shipped from the place where .it is no longer required to another placewhere the same is needed and thereby avoid the cost of equipping all of such cars with doors of this kind.

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 2 sheets: Figure l is a fragmentary side elevation of a closed or box car equipped. with a door embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section of the car looking toward the inner side of the car door and adjacent parts.

Fig. 3is a fragmentary vertical transverse section through the door and doorway of the car. Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary horizontal sections in the correspondingly sections of the door.

jtary vertical longitudinalsection of'one of numbered lines in Fig. 1., Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sect1on,on an enlarged scale, showing the construction of the panel Fig. 7 is a. fragmenthe lower corners of the door-frame and the lowermost panel, the section being taken in line 77, Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a. fragmentary bottom plan view of one corner of the door I so frame and the adjacent. part ofthe lowermost panel section of the door. Fig. 9 is a fragmentary horizontal section showing a slightly differentmeans from that shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for detachably connecting a door frame with the wall of the car.

J osnr, a citizen of the United States, residing at B'uf :Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

' Although,myimprovedclosure or shutter Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 24, 1912. v

may be used on various structuresthesame is shown in the drawings applied toa car. Thebody of the car may be of any ordinary construction, that shown in the drawings for. example comprising a bottom or floor 1, anv

upright side wall 2 provided with a door opening 3 and a roof 4. In its general organization my improved door comprises a framewhich may be either permanently or detachably connected" with the side wall in such mannerthatthe same beginning the operation of discharging the H grain or other loose freight therefronn In its preferred form, the frame ofthe doorjcomprises two upright channel irons or bars 5, 5 which in their operative position are adapted to rest against the'inner sides of the stiles 6, 6 of'the door opening with their channel sides facing each other. I Near their upper and lower ends these upright bars arcconnected by upper and lower horizontal cross bars 7, 70, which may be secured to the inner flanges of the channel irons by any suitable meanssuch as'brazing, riveting or screwing. 7 At their upper ends the side bars of the frame are pivoted to the inner side of the head or lintel of the door opening so that the door frame can swing eitheninto its vertical operative position across the door opening, as shown'by full lines in Figs. 2 and 3, or. inwa rdly, and upsubstantially horizontal position, as shown by dotted lines inFig. 3, when the door is not required for closing the door opening. Although these side bars may be permanently pivoted-to the side wall of the car it p p wardly toward the roof' of the car into a In the construction showninFigs. 2 and3 this detachable connection between the door frame and car body comprises a horizontal pintle rod 8 passing through corresponding openings formed in the webs of the channelshaped side bars and brackets 9 secured to the inner sides of the lintel or head of the door opening.

In Fig. 9 is shown another way of detachably connecting the door frame with the car body this last mentioned construction comprising a fixed pintle or pin 10 arranged on a bracket 11 which is mounted on the car body on one side of the door opening and engaging an opening in the upper end of one of the side bars of the door frame, and a retractable spring bolt 12 which is mounted on a bracket 130 secured to the car body on the opposite side of the door opening and which releasably engages with an opening at the upper end of the other side bar of the door frame.

In the closed position of the door the lower ends of the side bars engage the floor of the car body. At the lower end of each side bar and within the channel thereof the same is provided with a stop 13 which preferably consists of a short horizontal strip connecting the flanges thereof, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

Although the panel which is movably mounted within the frame of the door may be constructed of various materials and in diflerent ways it is preferable to construct the same of a plurality of superposed sections each section being made of sheet metal and arranged to slide vertically at its opposite vertical edges or ends in the guideways formed by the grooves or channel sides of the upright bars of the door frame. For the purpose of avoiding leakage through the panel of the door when the same is in use the lowermost section when in its operative position engages with the bottom or floor of the car body and each upper panel section laps downwardly at its lower edge past the upper edge of the next lower panel section on the inner side thereof. The sections of the door panel are also strengthened so as to enable the same to withstand the pressure which is brought against them from the inner side of the car when the latter is loaded. with grain or similar loose material. For this purpose each of the panel sections is preferably constructed of a single sheet of metal to form a flat plate or body 14, an upper horizontal bead or rib 15 which is doubled outwardly and downwardly at the upper edge of the plate, a lower depending flange 16 formed by doubling the lower edge of the plate inwardly and upwardly, and a lower horizontal bead or rib 17 formed by doubling the plate outwardly immediately above the depending flange. The lower head or rib 17 not only forms means for stiffening this part of the panel section but v.may be constructed of tubular form and a reinforcing rod or bar 18 inserted in the same, such an additional reinforcement being shown in the upper part of Fig. 6 while the absence of such a reinforcing rod is inclicated in the lower part of Fig. 6. The free edges ofthe folded portions of each panel section may be secured to the body or plate of the same either by rivets 19, as shown in Fig. 6, or by any other suitable means. These panel sect-ions are slipped preferably one at a time into the guideways on the side bars of the door frame fro-m the upper end thereof. If it is desired to place these panel sections in the door frame while the latter is detached from the car body both flanges of each channel-shaped side bar may extend continuously to the upper end of the same inasmuch as the upper ends of the channels thereof in the detached position of these bars are accessible at this time for introducing the panel sections. For the purpose, however, of permitting these panel sections to be placed in the door frame while the latter is hung on the car body the upper end of the inner flange of each channel iron or side bar is cut away, as shown at 20 in Figs. 2 and 3, a sufficient extent to permit each panel section to be inserted with its edges laterally between the webs of the side bars and then slipped downwardly into the guideways formed on the lower parts of these bars by the flanges thereof. i

The lowermost panel engages at its lower corners with the internal stops or shoulders 13 formed at the lower ends of the side bars of the door frame so as to confine the panel sections within the frame. Each of the lower corners of the lowermost panel section is rabbeted, as shown at 40 in Fig. 7, so as to receive the cross piece forming the shoulder 13 and permit the lower edge of the lowermostpanel section to be arranged flush with the lower ends of the frame side bars and thereby bear uniformly and evenly against the floor of the car for the purpose of preventing leakage from the car at this point.

In order to prevent any grains or similar material from lodging within the lower end of each guide way of the side bars above the shoulder 13 thereof a clearance opening 21 is formed between this shoulder and the web of each side bar through which any grain or other material which may become lodged in the guideway can escape, thereby enabling the lowermost panel section to bear fully against the shoulders 13 and avoid leakage which otherwise would be liable to occur if nearfits lower end with an outwardly projecting lug 22 which is adapted to be secured to the transverse face of the adjacent stile of the doorway; or opening, by. means of a .na1l, pm orscrew 23, as shown inFigs. 1, 3,

gitand 5. a j

The several sections of the panel of the door are alsoheld in their lowermost position and firmly in engagement. with each other to prevent leakage, by means of two locking bolts 25 which are mounted on the upper edge of'the uppermost panel section so as to be capable of horizontallongitudi- 'nal sliding movement thereon and each of which is adapted to engage with-an opening 2 26in the adjacentpart of the web of the companion side bar of the door frame,

' When it is desired to unload a car the nails 23 are withdrawn from the stiles of the doorway, the sliding bolts 25 of the uppermost panel section are disengaged from the side bars and the several paitel sections are raised together so as to form an opening between the lowermost panel section and the floorof the car through which the initial portion of the cargo of grain or similar material can escape from the car. This raising of the panel sections is preferably effected by prying the same upwardly by means of a crowbar or similar instrument inserted between the lower edge of the lowermost panel section and the fioor of the car. In order to permit of thus using a crowbar for raising the panel without injuring the same the lower edge of the lowermost panel section is reinforced by means of a bar 26 of iron secured horizontally and lengthwise to the lower edge of this section on the outerside thereof, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

After a sufficient quantity of the cargo has been discharged from the car to relieve most of the pressure ontheinner side thereof the door may be swung bodily upwardly and inwardly toward the roof of the car so as to fully clear the door opening and permit theremaining part of the. cargo to be discharged more rapidly.

Forthe purpose of permitting the door to [be thus raisedeasily and conveniently from the outerside of the car a shifting device "is provided which is preferably constructed as shown in thedrawings'and which comprises a rope or similar flexlble shifting member 27 attached at one end to the central part of the lower cross bar of the door frame and projecting outwardly at its opposite end through an opening 28 in the wall of a car body, while its intermediate part passes over pulleys 29,30, 31, 32 mounted on the car body adjacent to the roof and side walls, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. j Upon pulling on the free end of the shifting rope from the outer side of thecar after the intern-a1 pressure on the car door has been re lieved the latter may be shifted fromthe position shown by full lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown by dotted lines in the same figure, and, thereafter the door may be held in this fully opened position by securing the free end of this shifting rope in any suitable manner.

When the car is empty the door can be readily removed and transferred from one car to'another, thereby permitting the car to be used for other classes of goods, products or merchandise in which tight doors are not necessary and enabling the door to be returned to theplace from which grain or similar products are to be shipped. It is thus possible to makethe fullest possible use of these doors inasmuch as theyare not idle as would be the case if they were permanently attached to the car, thereby enabling all cars adapted to carrygrain or similar material tobe maintained tightat comparatively low cost.

By the use of this closure, shutter or door, coopering of the cars in the ordinary way is avoided, therebysaving the wear and tear of the cars incident to such coopering and also avoiding the waste of lumber which heretofore has always been broken and thrown away after being used but onceon a car, i p

I claim as my invention: 1. The combination with a car having a doorway, of a frame pivotally supported at its upper end onthe car at the top [of the doorway and provided" with two upright guide bars each of which is of U-shap'e in cross section forming a channel-shaped guideway which opens toward the other guide bar and each of which is provided with a stopat the lower end of its channel-shaped guideway, and a panelsliding at its opposite vertical edges in the channel-shaped guideways of both of said guide bars and engaging its lower edge with said stops.

2. The combination with a=car having a doorway, of a frame pivotally supported at its upper end on the car at the top of the doorway and provided with two upright guide bars each of which is of U-shape in cross section forming a channel-shaped guideway which opens toward the other guide bar and each of which is provided with a stop at the lower end of its channel shaped guideway, and a panel sliding at its opposite vertical edges in the channelshaped guideways of both of said guide bars and provided at its lower corners with notches or rabbets which engage with said stops.

8. The combination with a car having a doorway, of a frame pivotally supported at its upper end on the car at the top of the doorway and provided with two upright guide bars each of which is of U-shape in cross section forming a channel-shaped guideway which opens toward the other guide bar and each of which is provided Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the with a stop at the lower end of its channelshaped guideway and a panel sliding at its opposite vertical edges in the channelshaped guideways of both of said guide bars and provided at its lower corners 'with notches or rabbets which'engage with said stops and each of said stops being provided with an opening.

Witness my hand this 26th day of Septe1nber,- 1911.

EDWARD E. JOSEF.

Witnesses:

Tnno. L. PoPP, ANNA HEIGIs.

Gommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

